here has become such an ugly society compares to 10years ago. it's all about money, the stock market, the casino, the gaming. kids were not allowed to the game amusement parks before but on the year some influential woman in charge of big corporate, it became legalised.
they just need to generate money and no second thought of bad impact it brings.
it will be ugly sight if more game centre to be seen in public besides multi shops here and there............is this a first class life style.
we are living in a ugly world......too much of a 重 金 主 意 , less caring and ethnics and adore of nature(especially here)
This week we briefly look at the dismal unemployment report, then drop back and survey some other very eye-opening data on employment. Some groups are (surprise) doing better than others. What would it take to get us back to " normal," whatever that is? I give you a link to some webinars I will be involved in and finish with the answer to the question I am asked most often, " What do you think about gold?" I tell all. There are lots of topics to cover, so let's get started with no " but firsts." (Note: this e-letter may print out rather long, as there are LOTS of charts and tables.)
The Flat Earth (Employment) Society
Unless you were completely out of touch this weekend, you know the jobs report came in flat, as in zero, nada, " 0" . The economy was in neutral, at least as far as employment was concerned. But flat is actually down, as we need 125,000 jobs a month (at least) just to stay up with population growth. And, as we will see in a few pages, it may well take more than that.
Yes, there was the caveat that 46,000 Verizon workers were on strike, so the number should have been a positive 46,000. But then there were 20,000 returning Minnesota state workers who were " added" back in, so maybe the number should be negative. As it turns out, workers on strike are counted as unemployed when they go on strike (thus subtracting from the jobs number) and are added as newly employed when they go back to work. So sometime in the next month or so, when those Verizon workers settle, the employment report will show a magic increase of 46,000.
The rules for this are arcane. If you go do the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) website - assuming you have no real social life and nothing else better to do - you find that:
Employed persons are " persons 16 years and over in the civilian non-institutional population who, during the reference week, (a) did any work at all (at least 1 hour) as paid employees worked in their ownbusiness, profession, or on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family and (b) all those who were not working but who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of vacation, illness, bad weather, childcare problems, maternity or paternity leave, labor-management dispute, job training, or other family or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time off or were seeking other jobs." (Hat tip, Joan McCullough)
Somehow, strikes don't count as labor-management disputes. Or personal problems. Go figure. But that is a distortion of the monthly numbers, which is why it is better to look at rolling three-month averages to get a clearer picture. And speaking of three months, the last three months' job reports were revised down by a total of 58,000 jobs, making the net over the last three months a very small number.
However you look at this report, it was just ugly. Yet it goes along with regional reports that show a contracting economy and the national ISM (which came out Thursday), which is barely above a contractionary number, at 50.6. The ugly part of the ISM number is that this was the third straight month in which inventories rose more than new orders. Historically, as this chart from Rich Yamarone shows, that suggests we are either in or close to a recession. (Note, there are some other negative points, but they were not three months in a row and were not followed by recession.)
The US has roughly the same number of jobs today as it had in 2000, but the population is well over 30,000,000 larger.
To get to a civilian employment-to-population ratio equal to that in 2000, we would have to gain some 18 MILLION jobs.
The graph below is from the FRED database at the St. Louis Fed. (Kudos to the guys in St. Louis for maintaining such a wonderful source of data for all of us! They have thousands of charts and data sets to maintain and do so with precision, keeping things up-to-the-minute!) Note the precipitous drop in the ratio in the last ten years, especially during the recession.
The letter “Good English starts at home” (Sept 5) mentions ways in which Singaporeans can better their English. In reality, it will be far from easy.
As children here attend school for at least 40 weeks in a year, it is natural to expect them to pick up good English there. Sadly, many appear to have learnt very little.
If you mingle with schoolgoing children, you may be aware that a grammar item is now taught for a day or two, with few repetitive lessons. In most schools, reliable English textbooks are not used, and only countless teacher-prepared worksheets are given.
In the past, one grammar item was taught for one or two weeks, and each item was systematically scheduled (from the simple to the complex) to be covered in every primary and secondary school level.
Now, anything and everything, regardless of the difficulty level, can be taught quickly every day, according to the whims and fancies of school heads and teachers. For pupils who are weak in English, this fast-paced teaching method is of no use.
In addition, it does not help if such pupils have family members or tutors who do not speak and write good English.
To get everyone to have good English, it is very important that teachers themselves speak and write standard English and that they are able to teach good grammar consistently and correct pupils’ errors religiously.
I have personally seen startling examples of school teachers’ mistakes and misconceptions.
Once such mistakes are “taught”, they stick like glue in pupils’ minds for a long time.
I hope the Speak Good English Movement can help teachers with dubious skills in English, for the benefit of the many hapless children they teach.
SINGAPORE — The Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS) has raised concerns over a potential oversupply of private homes in the near term, especially with the uncertain global outlook.
today Saturday September 10, 2011
REDAS urges Government to review land sales programme
REDAS president Wong Heang Fine made the call at the association’s Mid Autumn Festival celebrations at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday.
The association is urging the Government to review its land sales programme to ensure that new supply is introduced only when the market is confident of absorbing it.
With the possibility of demand for private homes dropping due to an uncertain economic outlook, developers are pointing to the need to reign in supply.
[mOnOcrAcy DEVILS ? ? ? ?]
In the second half of this year, the Government will put up for sale 17 private residential sites under the Confirmed List of the Land Sales Programme.
Including recent sites sold, an estimated 53,000 private homes will hit the market over the next few years.
To ensure a more sustainable market,
REDAS wants the Government to moderate its land sales by putting more sites on the Reserve List instead of the Confirmed List.
That way, land is put up for tender only when there is sufficient interest.
“The Reserve List actually works well because all of us can actually trigger the land sales and each of us can then look at the particular site a bit more carefully,”
Mr Wong said.
“The Reserve List allows some flexibility, whereas in the Confirmed List, the Government would have to sell the site, irrespective of market conditions,” he added.
Echoing this sentiment, group chief executive officer of Frasers Centrepoint Lim Ee Seng said there is “adequate” supply in the market and he does not see the need for more sites to be introduced in the near term.
While he felt the REDAS suggestion is “good in such uncertain times”, property analyst Nicholas Mak said “the difficulty lies in balancing the number of sites on the Confirmed List and the Reserve List”.
Mr Mak, who is research head at SLP International Property Consultants, added that the Reserve List is not perfect as developers might be inclined to cherry-pick sites they are attracted to.
Cushman & Wakefield Singapore vicechairman Donald Han felt the Government is unlikely to change sites on the Confirmed List this year.
“The sales of site programme for the first half of next year is currently on the drawing board and they may probably finetune it slightly so that it is a little bit more on the Reserve List and probably less on the Confirmed List being offered, in view of current market conditions,” he added.
For now, developers are still optimistic that demand for private property will hold.
Mr Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman of City Developments Limited, said:
“I mean you put the money in the bank, you are getting very little interest. If you buy stocks and shares, volatility is so great.
“So you have (an) alternative investment asset, and I think that’s good if you can diversify. But as I’ve emphasised, don’t buy if you cannot pay.”
REDAS also urged the Government to review the various property cooling measures introduced so as to avoid artificially suppressing genuine demand.
[TryIng to pUsh Up prIces to eArn hIgher cOmmIssIOns ? ? ? ?]
While take up rates for property launches are still relatively strong, developers said market conditions could change in the next three to six months.
The people of this country work hard to meet their
responsibilities.
The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours.
The question is whether, in the face of a national crisis, we can stop the political circus and do something to help the economy.
US President Barack Obama
— Mixing punchy rhetoric with sarcastic jabs, United States President Barack Obama challenged lawmakers to “pass this jobs Bill” — a US$447-billion (S$547-billion) package of tax cuts and new government spending designed to revive a stalling economy as well as restore his own political standing.
SINGAPORE: The Media Development Authority (MDA) has said it plans to increase funding for Singapore’s growing games industry.
MDA did not want to reveal the amount but said the money would be used to fund prototype games research.
The global games market is said to be valued at between S$50 billion and S$80 billion.
As a further boost to the industry, the MDA will open a games solution centre next month.
It will be a place for game developers to interact and source for games information.
Industry players said there is huge potential in the sector, with trends moving towards mobile games application on smart phones and tablets.
Games Exchange Alliance president Aroon Tan said: " The big gaming trends we’re going to see is the proliferation of social gaming, obviously.
" One of the things we are excited about is the opportunity that goes from a Facebook game onto iPad game —— this kind of trans—gaming going from different screens."
Singapore is currently hosting the Games Xpo 2011, which has attracted 48 elite gamers from seven countries, competing in the TGX Regional Competition.
The event features more than 30 exhibitors.
Organisers expect to attract some 100,000 visitors to the expo, over the next three days.
SINGAPORE: The Media Development Authority (MDA) has said it plans to increase funding for Singapore’s growing games industry.
MDA did not want to reveal the amount but said the money would be used to fund prototype games research.
The global games market is said to be valued at between S$50 billion and S$80 billion.
As a further boost to the industry, the MDA will open a games solution centre next month.
It will be a place for game developers to interact and source for games information.
Industry players said there is huge potential in the sector, with trends moving towards mobile games application on smart phones and tablets.
Games Exchange Alliance president Aroon Tan said: " The big gaming trends we’re going to see is the proliferation of social gaming, obviously.
" One of the things we are excited about is the opportunity that goes from a Facebook game onto iPad game —— this kind of trans—gaming going from different screens."
Singapore is currently hosting the Games Xpo 2011, which has attracted 48 elite gamers from seven countries, competing in the TGX Regional Competition.
The event features more than 30 exhibitors.
Organisers expect to attract some 100,000 visitors to the expo, over the next three days.
SINGAPORE: The Media Development Authority (MDA) has said it plans to increase funding for Singapore’s growing games industry.
MDA did not want to reveal the amount but said the money would be used to fund prototype games research.
The global games market is said to be valued at between S$50 billion and S$80 billion.
As a further boost to the industry, the MDA will open a games solution centre next month.
It will be a place for game developers to interact and source for games information.
Industry players said there is huge potential in the sector, with trends moving towards mobile games application on smart phones and tablets.
Games Exchange Alliance president Aroon Tan said: " The big gaming trends we’re going to see is the proliferation of social gaming, obviously.
" One of the things we are excited about is the opportunity that goes from a Facebook game onto iPad game —— this kind of trans—gaming going from different screens."
Singapore is currently hosting the Games Xpo 2011, which has attracted 48 elite gamers from seven countries, competing in the TGX Regional Competition.
The event features more than 30 exhibitors.
Organisers expect to attract some 100,000 visitors to the expo, over the next three days.
Master Okawa, founder of Happy Science, is a living Buddha of the 21st century and a World Teacher of True Happiness. In the tradition of Shakyamuni Buddha, Jesus Christ, Confucius, and Moses, Master Okawa teaches the Truth and the principles that bring people true happiness and open the path to a new and better era. His teachings incorporate all truths discovered by enlightened humans that have become shining beacons of light throughout human history and creates new guiding principles necessary for contemporary society to live in peace, harmony and prosperity.
“The world population is now over seven billion and growing towards ten billion. My thoughts are focused on how people living in over two-hundred countries can be in harmony with each other, work together and live in happiness on this Earth whose world population is approaching ten billion”.
www.metacafe.com/watch/.../master_ryuho_okawa_what_is_wealth_part...6 min - 16 Sep 2009 Mr. Shoji Oga, a Japanese businessman, always had the feeling that he wanted to help others. A 1990 lecture by Master Ryuho Okawa...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO64yKgp8Rg3 min - 7 Jan 2011 - Uploaded by HappyScienceIntl Master Ryuho Okawa's " The Age of Choice in Religion" (Feb 1st 1994) excerpt ( 15:52-18:45) The history and past incarnations of El ...
" .... At the same time, I don't think that dictatorship or moncracy, where the military or a single political party controls everything, would bring upon happiness in this world."
" We must have freedomw because we are children of God. The fact that we are children of God is the basis of our human rights."
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